More than 10,000 people already have registered to take the exam, said Barbara West, Chicago police chief of organizational development.

About 77 percent of the applicants who will take an exam in December to determine whether they are qualified to enter the five-month Police Academy are nonwhite, West said.

Nearly half of the applicants are graduates of the Chicago Public Schools, and 10 percent are military veterans, officials said.

The test to get into the Police Academy is scheduled for Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 at McCormick Place.

That exam will be the second this year. Another test is not expected to be scheduled in 2018, West said.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has promised to add 970 positions to the Police Department by the end of next year: 516 police officers, 200 detectives, 112 sergeants, 50 lieutenants and 92 field training officers. The department also will fill 500 vacant positions.

The second half of the hiring blitz is expected to cost about $60 million.

Starting pay for police officers is $48,078; it jumps to $72,510 after 1½ years.

Emanuel said last week that 85-100 new officers have been hitting Chicago's streets per month as part of that hiring push since September.